Hosta La Vista

Updated 2:10 pm, Tuesday, July 22, 2014

The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground covers, but also viburnum, dogwood, peonies and boxwood. less

To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground ... more

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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The hostas the Daltons make have a consistent aesthetic: they like rippled, narrow leaves with white backs.

The hostas the Daltons make have a consistent aesthetic: they like rippled, narrow leaves with white backs.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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These white fluffy flowers are Astilbe Snowdrift. To the left is a hosta called a Tardiflora.

These white fluffy flowers are Astilbe Snowdrift. To the left is a hosta called a Tardiflora.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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You’ll find gargoyles and dragons throughout the garden, particularly in one area, the dragon-themed garden, which comprises hostas called the dragon lady and dragon tails.

You’ll find gargoyles and dragons throughout the garden, particularly in one area, the dragon-themed garden, which comprises hostas called the dragon lady and dragon tails.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground covers, but also viburnum, dogwood, peonies and boxwood. less

To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground ... more

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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You’ll find gargoyles and dragons throughout the garden, particularly in one area, the dragon-themed garden, which comprises hostas called the dragon lady and dragon tails.

You’ll find gargoyles and dragons throughout the garden, particularly in one area, the dragon-themed garden, which comprises hostas called the dragon lady and dragon tails.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground covers, but also viburnum, dogwood, peonies and boxwood. less

To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They’re partial to partial-shade plants. “We’ll try anything that’ll flower in part shade,” Meg says. That includes a lot of ground ... more

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Meg and Jim Dalton started their garden, which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas, in the spring of 2000.

Photo: Emily Jahn

Image 36 of 42

The hostas the Daltons make have a consistent aesthetic: they like rippled, narrow leaves with white backs.

The hostas the Daltons make have a consistent aesthetic: they like rippled, narrow leaves with white backs.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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Photo: Emily Jahn

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The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12.

Photo: Emily Jahn

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Hosta La Vista

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Meg and Jim Dalton have owned their Middle Grove home for almost 15 years. They started their garden — which specializes in gorgeous, bountiful hostas — in the spring of 2000. Over the past decade and more, the Daltons have built a garden of dreams, with windy paths, arbors, sitting places, dribbling water features and thousands of plants. (They'll also be featured in the Saratoga Secret Garden Tour next month on July 13, so if you're heading there, definitely make a stop in Middle Grove.)

The Daltons are passionate about hostas and even hybridize their own. They have nearly 2,000 different hostas throughout their garden and have registered 12. Three of their hostas — the Scheherazade, Funny Bones and Morning's Glory — are currently in the process of being cultured and potentially distributed internationally next year. The hostas the Daltons make have a consistent aesthetic: they like rippled, narrow leaves with white backs.

You'll find gargoyles and dragons throughout the garden, particularly in one area, the dragon-themed garden, which comprises hostas called the dragon lady and dragon tails.

To make space and light, Jim and Meg have taken out about 150 trees. They're partial to partial-shade plants. "We'll try anything that'll flower in part shade," Meg says. That includes a lot of ground covers, but also viburnum, dogwood, peonies and boxwood.

Tips for growing hostas — and saving them from the evil deer

-- "Deer are an early-season problem" for hostas and the garden in general, says Peter Bowden of Hewitt's Gardening Center. "All of our garden stuff is a lot more attractive to them because the meadows haven't bloomed yet." -- Bowden recommends Repels-All and Liquid Fence — two topical deer repellants, usually diluted with water. "They're just smelly things you spray right on the plants," he says. The key, again, is to get out there early. Once everything starts blooming in the woods and meadows around you, you'll have less of a problem. (Not that they'll go away entirely.)

-- As for the hostas themselves, "They like generally a shadier area," Bowden says. "The more variegated or white stuff on the leaves, the more sun they can take. The larger or greener the leaves, the more shade it'll want." Though Bowden is quick to add that generally hostas are mostly a shade plant, so "avoid putting them in the sun. They can tolerate it, but just a little bit."

-- And the flowers? Some people don't like flowers on their hostas and clip them off. Bowden says he used to do that too, until he discovered something: "I've found that hummingbirds just love [the flowers] so I don't cut them off anymore.

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